Supplementing the Teaching of Grammar

Grammar teaching has long been a contentious issue between Japanese and L1 (native) teachers of English. Many Japanese teachers of English argue that grammar-based teaching is the only way to give students an in-depth understanding of the language, whereas L1 teachers complain that an overemphasis on grammar fails to foster the development of communicative English skills. In this paper we will compare the two emphases in order to explore improved outcomes for the English proficiency of students.